Clinical Efficacy of Ganglioside Combined with Methylprednisolone in the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury and Its Effect on Inflammatory Response and Oxidative Stress Factors

Objective: To determine the clinical efficacy of monosialotetrahexosylganglioside (GM1) combined with methylprednisolone in the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). Study Design: An observational study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Orthopaedics, Baoding No.1 Central Hospital, Baoding, Hebei, China, from January 2018 to June 2021. Methodology: A total of 80 patients with SCI were divided into control and observation groups according to treatment methods, the control group receiving methylprednisolone treatment and the observation group receiving methylprednisolone combined with GM1. The effective rate of treatment, time of normal muscle strength recovery, walk on the ground, and hospital stay were compared. The changes in the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) score, activity of daily living (ADL), serum inflammatory factors, oxidative stress factor levels, and adverse reactions were recorded. Results: The effective rate of clinical efficacy of the observation group was 92.50%, surpassing the control group's which was 75.00% (chi(2)= 4.501, p = 0.034). The observation group had a shorter recovery time for muscle strength, walking time, and hospital stay compared to the control group (p <0.05). After treatment, the ADL scores of both groups were higher than before treatment, and the degree of increase in the observation group was higher than the control group (p <0.05). The levels of serum tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) for all patients were significantly reduced, with the observation group showing a more significant decrease (p <0.05). There was a notable increase in glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels in both groups, while the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) decreased significantly. GSH-Px, SOD, and MDA levels were significantly greater in the observation group (p <0.05). Conclusion: The combination of methylprednisolone and MG1 treatment of SCI can significantly reduce the inflammatory response and improve clinical efficacy.